Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Seeing that Song Qingming had figured it out at a glance, Long Ziyun immediately explained:

"Fellow Daoist Song is right. This treasure is called the Ice Soul Jade Bottle, and it is indeed a very rare Grade 4 superior ice-attribute defensive magic treasure."

A few years ago, when I returned to Leiyuan Sea to break through my cultivation in seclusion, I happened to learn from an elder in the alliance that a fellow Daoist in Liuyun Sect possessed this treasure.

"Only then did I send a message to Fellow Daoist Song, informing him that I had brought this treasure here."

"The Ice Soul Jade Bottle!"

As soon as Long Ziyun finished speaking, before Song Qingming could even open his mouth, Li Xuanyi, who was sitting to the side, looked over first.

"Fellow Daoist Long, something seems off about the aura emanating from this magic weapon. Is there some flaw in it?"

As a fourth-level weapon refiner, Li Xuanyi's senses about magic weapons naturally far surpassed those of others. After only a few glances, she noticed a slight abnormality in the aura emanating from the magic weapon.

Upon hearing this, Long Ziyun smiled and nodded.

"Fellow Daoist Li indeed has a good eye. To be honest, when that fellow Daoist used this treasure to fight an enemy, it was accidentally damaged and lost a trace of its spiritual energy."

But don't worry, Fellow Daoist Song, I've already confirmed it with him.

This slight flaw, at most, reduces the power of this treasure by less than ten percent; I think it shouldn't have much of an impact on you, fellow Daoist."

"Hmm! If that's the case, then it's fine. I'll try it first and see."

Upon hearing Long Ziyun's explanation, Song Qingming nodded slightly, then covered the magic weapon with his divine sense and examined it carefully.

Seeing that Song Qingming didn't seem to care too much about this flaw, the tension on Long Ziyun's face gradually eased.

After obtaining the magic weapon, Song Qingming returned to his mountain cave and began to cast spells to refine it.

Because Long Ziyun had already erased the mark on the treasure beforehand and provided Song Qingming with the method of refining it.

This saved him a lot of time, and in just a few days, Song Qingming successfully refined the "Ice Soul Jade Bottle" magic weapon.

After trying the spell, it was indeed as Long Ziyun had said.

Although this "Ice Soul Jade Bottle" magic weapon has lost some of its spiritual power, it is still a genuine level four high-grade defensive magic weapon, and its power has not been weakened much.

With the assistance of the "Azure Jade Refining Treasure Technique" within Song Qingming's body, its power is definitely no less than that of ordinary magic treasures of the same level.

Song Qingming didn't pay too much attention to this impact.

After leaving Li Xuanyi to entertain Long Ziyun, Song Qingming returned to Qinghe County alone with the "Ice Soul Jade Bottle".

Decades have passed, and little has changed in the vicinity of Qinghe.

Although the number of cultivators in Qinghe County has increased in recent years due to the influence of the Song family, the Song family's control over the surrounding area has also become stronger.

The area around Qinghe is under extremely strict control. Nowadays, apart from the main members of the Song family, almost no outside cultivators can approach it at will.

There are even rumors that the Song family controls this place so tightly because they discovered an "ancient medicinal herb garden" nearby.

Some say that the Song family mined a large vein of minerals near Qinghe and found a legendary top-grade spiritual stone in it.

However, the Song family's influence in Wei Kingdom is too great now. Even the "Xiaoyao Sect" doesn't dare to interfere in matters here, let alone others.

Whether Qinghe harbors a "spiritual herb garden" or a large mineral vein remains a mystery, only known through rumors; no one dares to come and investigate.

Occasionally, a few curious and ignorant individuals will sneak in, and soon they will end up in the "Yinfeng Ridge" mine, where they will spend their entire lives facing only icy ore.

After all, the Song family's prestige was such that no one in Qinghe County could challenge it.

".."

Upon entering the "Qinghe Cave," Song Qingming quickly arrived at the high platform in front of the runes, his gaze fixed on the third rune above.

Once the runes were activated by his spell, a flash of white light appeared, and Song Qingming quickly disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, a figure appeared in a blue and white passageway, flashing with spiritual light.

Looking at the familiar passageway before him, Song Qingming's expression turned serious as he quickly recalled the scene of his first visit here.

This crystal passage may seem easy to stand in, but as soon as Song Qingming walks inside, he will soon be met with a chilling aura.

These chilling energies, resembling millennia-old ice, could easily penetrate the protective aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator; their piercing cold light was enough to freeze everything in the world.

When Song Qingming first entered this place, he originally intended to use the Xuan Yang Blazing Flame contained in his natal magic weapon to force his way in.

Before they even reached the halfway point, the blazing flames on the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" could no longer withstand the onslaught, unable to directly block the ancient, icy energy that was its nemesis.

Later, Song Qingming tried several other methods and even used a high-level spirit talisman.

However, they failed to pass this test. Instead, their protective aura was penetrated by the cold air several times, almost causing their bodies to be frostbitten.

After suffering repeated setbacks, Song Qingming had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plan to pass the level and began searching for high-level ice-attribute magic weapons.

Now that his cultivation has advanced further, and he has acquired a high-grade level four ice-attribute defensive magic weapon, he feels more confident in overcoming this challenge.

After a short while of recuperation, Song Qingming raised his hand and summoned the "Ice Soul Jade Bottle," and soon a blue light shield covered his body.

At the same time, Song Qingming also felt a cool sensation throughout his body.

Although this "Ice Soul Jade Bottle" magic weapon has a slight flaw, in terms of defensive capabilities alone, it is inferior to Song Qingming's natal magic weapon, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror".

However, it is, after all, a high-grade level four defensive magic weapon, and its power is still far greater than that of a mid-grade magic weapon like the "Black Tortoise Spirit Light Shield".

After activating the "Ice Soul Jade Bottle" for protection, Song Qingming turned his gaze to the passage ahead and strode forward.

After walking only a dozen or so steps forward, they saw a flash of spiritual light appear in the passage ahead.

A buzzing sound suddenly filled the air, and gusts of cold wind arose out of nowhere.

Faced with the biting wind, Song Qingming, who was inside the light shield, immediately stopped and increased his magical power into the "Ice Soul Jade Bottle" above his head.

Soon, the power of the protective shield in front of him increased significantly again.

Feeling that the cold wind couldn't penetrate the protective shield in front of him, Song Qingming's expression relaxed slightly, and he quickly continued walking forward.

Just as he guessed, the ice-attribute magic weapon was far more effective here than any of his other magic weapons, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

With that, Song Qingming felt much more at ease and continued moving forward.

After walking another hundred steps or so, as they ventured deeper into the passage, the power of the surrounding gale and cold air increased several times over compared to before.

At this moment, the spiritual light on the protective shield in front of Song Qingming had become much weaker than before due to the constant attack of the cold wind.

Seeing this, Song Qingming immediately cast a spell to release a burst of green light from his body.

Before long, as the green light covered the magic weapon, the protective shield in front of him also stabilized.

Having done all this, Song Qingming's gaze hardened, and he once again moved forward, braving the icy wind.

After walking about seventy or eighty more steps, the pressure on Song Qingming was also increasing.

With only a dozen feet left to the exit of the passage, a crack suddenly appeared in the protective shield in front of him, and a cold wind began to penetrate the shield.

In an instant, Song Qingming felt a chilling sensation rapidly enter his body.

Seeing this, he knew something was wrong and had no choice but to abandon his forward steps. He used magic to turn around and retreat, and soon returned to the position he had set off from.

With only a dozen or so feet left, Song Qingming still couldn't get through smoothly, and his face showed some helplessness.

Although I failed this time, I have made great progress compared to before.

After a brief rest to recover his magical power, Song Qingming got up and once again summoned his magic weapon, the "Ice Soul Jade Bottle," before resolutely striding forward.

".."

Several months later, at "Guyang Mountain", the main hall of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Zheng Zongxun, Yao Muling, Wu Yueqin and others were busy in the main hall when they suddenly saw a figure walk in from outside.

Upon seeing that the visitor was none other than Bai Yuxian, the Supreme Elder of the sect, everyone was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Greetings to the ancestor!"

"Meet the Master!"

After taking her seat at the head of the main hall, Bai Yuxian glanced at everyone and waved her hand gently.

Once everyone was seated, Bai Yuxian spoke up, "I just came out of seclusion and, having nothing to do, I came here to take a look."

I wonder if anything happened in the sect while I was in seclusion, and if things were still peaceful around me.

And what's the situation in the East China Sea now? Have Qingyu and the others sent any messages recently?

Upon hearing Bai Yuxian's inquiry, her personal disciple Wu Yueqin quickly stepped forward, cupped her hands, and replied, "Reporting to Master, everything is well in the sect recently."

Uncle Song sends messages back every month, saying that mining in the East Sea mines has been going smoothly recently, and the frequency of monster attacks has decreased significantly in recent years.

Half a year ago, a large army of demons suddenly appeared in the northwest of Golden Feather Mountain and conquered several spiritual veins there. However, later, the Wind Ape Ancestor arrived with his people and quickly drove away the demons.

. "

Although the "Xiaoyao Sect" has six Nascent Soul elders on the surface.

However, Elder Li Mufeng, whose lifespan is not long, has been intentionally retiring in recent years and has not been involved in the affairs of the sect much.

Song Qingming and Li Xuanyi mostly cultivated at Chiyun Mountain, and rarely returned to Guyang Mountain except for some important sect matters.

"Wind Ape" and Song Qingyu, one was stationed at the northern front of "Golden Feather Mountain", while the other went to guard the East China Sea mine.

In recent years, the only one who has truly stayed in charge of affairs within the sect is Bai Yuxian.

Compared to more than a hundred years ago, the territory of the "Xiaoyao Sect" has expanded several times over, and there are industries in various places such as the "Donghuang Kingdom" and the East Sea that require manpower to manage.

Dealing with these trivial matters of the sect is also a very energy-consuming task.

Although the new generation of Golden Core elders in the sect, such as Zheng Zongxun and Wu Yueqin, have grown rapidly, they still lack experience in handling affairs. Therefore, the first thing Bai Yuxian did after emerging from seclusion was to rush to the "Xiaoyao Palace".

After hearing Wu Yueqin give a brief report on the sect's affairs, Bai Yuxian nodded with some satisfaction, then turned her gaze to Yao Muling.

"Mu Ling, how is your master now? How is his injury recovering?"

"Reporting to the Ancestor, Master's injuries have improved, and she can now go out and walk around. She also said that once you come out of seclusion, she will apply to come back and help with the affairs."

Yao Muling is not only a direct descendant of the former sect leader Yao Qianshu, but also a disciple personally taught by Xu Ziyan.

More than 20 years ago, after Xu Ziyan spent all her savings to successfully exchange for the "Nurture Pill", she began to go into seclusion to try to break through to the Nascent Soul realm for the second time.

Unfortunately, despite her second attempt at forming a Nascent Soul, and after more than a decade of seclusion, she still failed to overcome the hurdle of condensing a Nascent Soul.

This also damaged his internal dantian, from which he has not yet recovered.

Hearing that Xu Ziyan's injuries had improved, Bai Yuxian nodded slightly and said, "Ziyan's injuries are not fully healed yet, so don't rush back to take care of her."

First, take my token to the Good Deeds Pavilion and exchange it for a Rejuvenation Pill to give to Ziyan.

Tell her it was my order to tell her to focus on recovering and not to worry about anything else. I'll see her when she's better.

"On behalf of Master, Mu Ling thanks Ancestor!"

Yao Muling was able to successfully form her core back then precisely because of the full support of her master, Xu Ziyan.

Faced with the token that Bai Yuxian threw to her, Yao Muling quickly nodded gratefully and then turned and left the main hall.

Watching Yao Muling walk away, Bai Yuxian sighed softly.

Xu Ziyan achieved Nascent Soul twice. In addition to accumulating merit through her own efforts, Yao Muling, as her disciple, also contributed significantly, lending a considerable amount of merit to her master.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and Xu Ziyan was unable to overcome this obstacle.

Not only did he lose all his years of accumulated merit in one fell swoop, but he also owed a lot of merit to his sect friends and disciples.

The reason she's so eager to serve the sect now is probably because she wants to pay off her debt of merits as soon as possible and doesn't want to affect Yao Muling and the others' cultivation because of herself.

Just as Bai Yuxian was deep in thought, Zheng Zongxun, who was standing to the side, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

"Uncle-Master Bai, a few days ago I heard from a disciple of the sect's General Affairs Hall that there were unusual celestial phenomena at Crimson Cloud Mountain, which seemed to indicate that Senior Brother Yuan Hao had reached the critical moment of forming his Nascent Soul."

However, we haven't had time to verify this matter yet, and we don't know how Senior Brother Yuan Hao is doing now.

"Oh! It seems that Yuan Hao went into seclusion about ten years ago. Counting the days, it is indeed about time."

I don't have anything urgent to do recently, so I might as well go to Chiyun Mountain in a few days to check on things.

"I'll leave the sect to you for now."

"I'll wait for the order!"

".."

The entrance to the market town at the foot of Chiyun Mountain.

Looking at Song Qingming and Li Xuanyi, who had come to see her off, Long Ziyun quickly cupped her hands in greeting.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I regret that I was unable to help much this time. Please do not hesitate to ask me for anything in the future."

"Fellow Daoist, you have already done me a great favor by lending me your magic weapon. You are too kind."

Long Ziyun nodded slightly, and just as she was about to turn and leave, she suddenly stopped.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Song, I suddenly remembered that Zhongyuan Immortal Continent seems to be holding a large-scale trade fair in a few years. If you are interested, you can go there."

Zhongyuan Immortal Continent is, after all, the main base of our human cultivators, and its spiritual resources are far richer than those of our Donghuang Continent and Leiyuan Sea.

"If you're interested, fellow Daoist, I'll let you know when I have any news!"

"Oh! After cultivating for so many years, I, Song, have never been to Zhongyuan Immortal Continent. Indeed, I have long wanted to travel there."

Since Fellow Daoist Long has said so, then I, Song, should indeed consider making a trip."

"Alright! I'll let you know as soon as I have definite news!"

After concluding the matter with Song Qingming, Long Ziyun bowed to the two of them and then turned into a streak of light, leaving "Red Cloud Mountain".

As soon as Long Ziyun left, Li Xuanyi, who had overheard Song Qingming's conversation with the other party, immediately grabbed Song Qingming's arm and said:
“My husband, I have long heard of Zhongyuan Immortal Continent, but I have never been there.”

If you really do go traveling somewhere, don't forget to take me with you!

"When you and I reach the Nascent Soul stage, we should take the opportunity to go out and broaden our horizons, which will also benefit our own cultivation."

Don't worry, I'll definitely let you know when Fellow Daoist Long has some news.

After agreeing, Song Qingming led Li Xuanyi back to the "Huixian Pavilion" on the mountaintop.

Shortly after the two returned, they received a report from a disciple, who told them that it was their senior sister, Bai Yuxian, who had come to visit. They immediately went out to greet her.

Seeing that Song Qingming, who had been in seclusion for nearly twenty years, had not only emerged from seclusion but had also successfully broken through to the eighth level of the Nascent Soul realm, Bai Yuxian was also quite surprised.

"Junior Brother Song, I didn't expect you to have already emerged from seclusion. Congratulations on your remarkable progress in cultivation. It's only been a short time since we last met, but we've fallen further and further behind you."

"Hehe! Senior Sister Bai's cultivation has also improved a lot over the years. I think it won't be long before she can break through to the late Nascent Soul stage."

"I'm just cultivating faster now. Once my senior sister advances to the late Nascent Soul stage, I'll catch up sooner or later."

Twenty years have passed, and Bai Yuxian's aura has changed considerably. Having switched to cultivating the "Purple Sun Divine Light Technique," her cultivation has reached the peak of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

It is estimated that in three to five years at most, she will be able to go into seclusion and break through the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage.

Although breaking through the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage is not easy, Bai Yuxian possesses the aptitude of Heavenly Spiritual Root and has cultivated the advanced divine technique "Purple Sun Divine Light Technique".

Compared to other Nascent Soul cultivators, her chances of advancing to the later stage are definitely much higher.

Upon hearing Song Qingming's praise, Bai Yuxian shook her head slightly.

"Advancing to the late stage of Nascent Soul is not an easy thing. Among so many fellow Daoists in the Floating Cloud Mountains, only Junior Brother Song has this opportunity."

"It's hard to say when I'll have the opportunity to take that step, so Junior Brother Song, please don't praise me like that anymore."

After speaking, Bai Yuxian turned her gaze to the sky above the mountaintop, which was covered by the array, and changed the subject, asking:
"Junior Brother Song, how is Yuan Hao doing now? Are you confident that he can successfully form his Nascent Soul?"

“Yuan Hao triggered the celestial phenomenon half a year ago. Judging from the current situation, he seems to be almost exhausted of the spiritual power of the Nascent Soul Pill. The chances of success are probably not very high.”

Ever since Song Yuanhao triggered the celestial phenomenon, Song Qingming has been observing the situation on the mountaintop.

Compared to six months ago, the spiritual energy gathered near the mountain cave has clearly begun to decline recently. According to Song Qingming's estimate, his chances of successfully forming his Nascent Soul are now very low.

Bai Yuxian, upon hearing Song Qingming's words, suddenly showed a hint of surprise on her face.

"Yuan Hao was able to trigger such extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth for so long on his first attempt at forming a Nascent Soul. It seems that his performance is much stronger than that of Zi Yan and the others."

Even if he fails this time, with better preparation next time, his chances of condensing his Nascent Soul will certainly be quite high.

The path to Nascent Soul is extremely difficult to achieve.

Even with exceptional talent and the support of elders and sects, successfully forming a Nascent Soul is still not an easy task.

Since Song Qingyu successfully formed his Nascent Soul, six people from the "Free and Unfettered Sect" have attempted to reach the Nascent Soul realm: Chen Xuanxin, Huang Siyuan, Xu Ziyan, Zhou Ziyang, "Wind Ape," and Song Yuanhao.

Besides his deep foundation as a "Wind Ape" accumulated over many years, he also successfully broke through to the Nascent Soul realm with the help of a mid-grade fourth-level demon core from Song Qingming.

The remaining individuals, excluding Song Yuanhao who was still in seclusion, all ultimately failed.

Among them, Chen Xuanxin, Huang Siyuan, and Xu Ziyan all failed to break through to the Nascent Soul realm twice, while Zhou Ziyang, like Song Yuanhao, has only tried to break through to the Nascent Soul realm once so far.

Among those who attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, Chen Xuanxin and Zhou Ziyang performed the best, each triggering extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth for more than three months.

Huang Siyuan and Xu Ziyan were slightly less impressive.

When the two first formed their Nascent Souls, they didn't even trigger any extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth. It wasn't until their second seclusion to break through their cultivation level that they barely managed to condense their Nascent Souls.

The Song Yuanhao before them had caused a celestial phenomenon for half a year during his first Nascent Soul formation, a feat that surpassed the other four.

It should be noted that when Bai Yuxian first formed her nascent soul, it also caused a celestial phenomenon for less than half a year.

In her opinion, Song Yuanhao's performance on his first attempt at Nascent Soul cultivation far surpassed that of other Golden Core disciples in the sect.

Even if he fails to form a Nascent Soul this time, given more time, he will likely succeed in his next attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

Song Qingming did not refute Bai Yuxian's words, clearly agreeing with her point of view.

Now that the "Free and Unfettered Sect" is ranked among the top ten sects, it has few Nascent Soul cultivators and its foundation is also insufficient. Song Qingming is also very eager to cultivate more Nascent Soul cultivators as soon as possible.

Given Song Yuanhao's performance this time, Song Qingming will definitely do his best to help him achieve Nascent Soul stage.

Among the thirty-odd Golden Core cultivators in the "Free and Unfettered Sect," Song Yuanhao had the highest chance of reaching the Nascent Soul stage compared to the others in the sect.

Not only Song Qingming thought so, but Bai Yuxian felt the same way at this moment.

"Junior Brother Song, don't worry. The sect still has one Nascent Soul Pill left. I'll leave it for Yuan Hao first, so as not to delay his Nascent Soul formation during his seclusion."

As for the merit points for exchanging pills, I can help contribute some, so there shouldn't be any problems.

The sect's policy of exchanging merit points for Nascent Soul Pills is fair, but it hasn't been able to cultivate any Nascent Soul cultivators over the years. Perhaps we should change our thinking.

"If the sect could have a few more Nascent Soul cultivators, they could share some of the burden with us, allowing us to cultivate in peace. That would naturally be a good thing."

However, this matter concerns the foundation of our sect and their path to enlightenment, so we need to carefully consider all the details before we can proceed.

"To avoid rashly changing the rules and incurring the dissatisfaction of the disciples, which would be counterproductive."

"By the way, how is Junior Sister Xu's injury? Has she finished her seclusion?" (End of Chapter)